IN THE MILITARY

Think women exempt from draft? Think again

Analyst calls out Congress for

Congress is moving forward with its “war on women” by failing to pursue an exemption for them from the draft, according to an analyst whose work focuses on the military and the readiness of the services to defend the nation.

“During the House Armed Services Committee’s markup on the National Defense Authorization bill for 2014, committee members would not even consider legislation to preserve young women’s exemption from Selective Service registration and a possible future draft,” according to the Center for Military Readiness, which is run by Elaine Donnelly.

For now, a lawsuit demanding that women be included in any future draft has been dismissed. But critics say direct and specific exemptions need to be established now for women.

The idea is that treating women as equal to men means allowing them to join combat units, which the Obama administration has been advocating.

Such ranks include the Army and Marine infantry, armor, artillery, Special Operations Forces and Navy SEALs.

“These are small fighting teams that locate, close with, and attack the enemy with deliberate offensive action and a high probability of direct physical contact with the hostile force’s personnel. … Wrapped in this camouflage-disguised package is a legal time-bomb that gives new meaning to the phrase ‘war on women.’ Unless Congress intervenes, a future court will impose Selective Service obligations on unsuspecting civilian women, on the same basis as men,” the CMR report said.

“The last time the House of Representatives seriously debated the issue of women in land combat was in 1979, 34 years ago,” the analysis notes. “Following four days of extensive hearings in the House, Congress successfully resisted a move by then-President Jimmy Carter to include women in registration for a possible future draft.”

Just two years later, the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of a male-only Selective Service.

William A. Woodruff, a professor at Campbell School of Law, retired as an Army colonel and worked as a Judge Advocate General.

He says in the analysis that in the 1981 decision, in which the Supreme Court deferred to the judgment of Congress regarding the draft, women were protected because they were not “similarly situated” regarding combat units.

“However,” he wrote. “If we remove the combat exclusion, the obvious result is that women and men are ‘similarly situated’ and the justification for [an exemption for women] is no longer present.”

“The Defense Department has set in motion an incremental process running through 2016 that is set up to give President Obama what he wants. Since he will select for high rank only new military leaders who support his ‘gender diversity’ agenda, the prolonged implementation process is a contrived pretense offering no substance on which to hang a legal case,” the analysis said.

The end game goal, the analysis suggests, is an abandonment of an exemption for women from the draft, “as a matter of discrimination that violates principles of ‘equal protection.'”

Making women eligible for the draft, and land combat, means they would be part of the forces who attack the enemy.

“Great physical strength and endurance are essential for survival and mission accomplishment,” the report said.

But Donnelly’s organization notes that women are not the same as men and could raise the risk of mission failure for themselves and their fellow soldiers.

WND reported a poll showing widespread support among Americans for women to be included if the U.S. military would resume a draft.

The poll by CapitalSoup.com and Mason-Dixon Polling and Research found 59 percent of Americans “believe women should be included in a draft, compared to only 38 percent who think they should not.”

The poll showed that support for drafting women was strongest among women, the 18-34 age group and Democrats.

“This poll documents a real evolution in public opinion about women serving in combat,” said Michelle Ubben, for CapitalSoup.com. “It reflects some interesting divides, with twice as many Democrats supporting women in the draft as Republicans. Clearly women are not shying away from an equal responsibility to serve our country.”

The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters nationwide and was conducted by telephone March 27-April 1. The margin of error is 3.2 percent.

It followed by only days the Defense Department’s confirmation that it plans to order female personnel into direct ground combat battalions.

Said Donnelly: “Department of Defense and military leaders are letting down the troops by moving ahead with ill-advised plans to order (not ‘allow’) women into physically demanding direct ground combat (DGC) positions. These include Army and Marine infantry, artillery, armor, and Special Operations Forces, including Ranger and Navy SEAL battalions.

“Missions of these fighting teams, which attack the enemy with deliberate offensive action, are very different from the experiences of courageous military women who have served in harm’s way while exposed to incident-related or contingent combat in war zones since 9/11,” she said.

Should women be subject to a military combat draft in times of war?

Absolutely - equality in all things

Since women are demanding equality in everything, it's only fair

Why not? Women have been serving as warriors throughout history

If our country needs a draft to defend itself, we may need all the resources we can muster

Yes, but those deemed unable to serve could be dismissed after their selection

Drafted, yes, but not necessarily to frontline combat roles

Volunteer? Yes. Drafted? No

No, a woman in combat, and especially captured, faces greater dangers

No, women shouldn't be fighting on the frontlines at all

No, compelling women to fight is to a society's shame

No, God has tasked men to be warriors and women to other valuable roles